Fever at Lynx
2:00 pm CDT
ABC
The Minnesota Lynx are in the Finals for the fourth time in five seasons, and will compete for their third title in that span against the Indiana Fever, who upset them in the 2012 Finals when the Lynx were looking to repeat as champions.
The Lynx come in to the series having posted the best record in the Western Conference during the regular season, following that up with playoff victories over the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury. They appear to be rounding into health after a season beset by injuries to key players including the starting back court of Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus.
Maya Moore, also suffering the after affects of a broken nose, has been peaking at the right time after a season not quite as dominant as her 2014 MVP campaign. She poured in a mind boggling 40 points in the clinching game of the Western Finals against Phoenix, including the winning free throw following a controversial foul call in the last seconds. She will need to be in MVP form for the Lynx in this series.
Meanwhile the Fever were the third seed in the East, and won two playoff series in which they did not have home court; first over Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Fire, and then over the top seeded New York Liberty against whom they overcame an 18 point deficit in game two and went on to win game three on the road. They are a tough, veteran team that will not be intimidated by the talented Lynx, though the Lynx did win both match ups during the regular season.
The Fever are led by veteran forward Tamika Catchings, who has upped her game in the post season. After averaging 13 points on 40% shooting during the regular year, she has put up 19 a night on 53% shooting in the playoffs. The match up between Catchings and Moore will be one to watch: a battle of two likely future Hall of Famers.
The Fever may have an advantage in this series from beyond the arc--they outshot the Lynx during the regular season from three in both quantity and percentage, though of course the Lynx have Moore, who can light it up from deep at any time. The Lynx should have an advantage inside, however, as the Fever have nobody that can realistically be expected to deal with Sylvia Fowles throughout the series, and the Lynx were a better rebounding team than the Fever during the regular season.
It should be an entertaining match up, so enjoy the game and the series.